Changing Directions
by Darke-Angyl
Summary: Daryl comes across a young woman while out hunting for some food to feed the group. Daryl/OC
1. Chapter 1

Daryl moved through the woods as he followed the tracks of a deer. It had been a couple of months since the attack at the Greene Farm. The entire group was on the road now, along with the farmer and his two daughters. Winter was coming fast, and Lori was starting to really show with her pregnancy. He knew he had to find some good food for them. It had been a while since any of them had been able to enjoy more than a few bites here or there.

Alyssa stumbled through the tree, her vision blurry and her throat dry. Her lips were cracked and bleeding, but she was feeling better than she had in a long time. The small group she had been a part of had recently been attacked by a group of men who had taken all of the weapons her group had. The attackers had killed all of the men in the camp and taken all of the women and children with them. Alyssa had been gathering berries and had hidden just outside of the camp, barely managing to keep back a scream when a stray bullet had lodged in her upper thigh and one of the murdered men collapsed just a few feet in front of her.

Daryl kept his eyes on the deer tracks as he continued moving through the trees. He stopped walking and tilted his head slightly as he heard something approaching. He slowly slipped the strap of his crossbow off of his shoulder and notched an arrow. He narrowed his eyes as he sighted along the arrow's shaft. Whatever was coming sounded like it was bigger than a deer.

Alyssa kept falling as she tried to keep putting one foot in front of the other. She had ripped a strip off of the bottom of her shirt and tied it around her thigh in an attempt to stop the bleeding, and she had been grateful that she hadn't run into any of the monsters. She knew she should probably try to get the bullet out of her leg, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Daryl narrowed his eyes further as he watched the walker stumbling toward him. He started to squeeze the trigger but stopped when he realized that the thing wasn't attacking him. A normal walker would have caught his scent and started heading straight for him by now. This one was stumbling and falling as if it was actually feeling pain and was confused.

Alyssa looked up and spotted the man with the crossbow after she had fallen again. "Please…" she croaked out in a painful whisper as she tried to push herself back to her feet. Her injured leg was shaking too hard to support her. "Help me…"

Daryl's eyes widened as he heard the weak voice. He lowered his crossbow and hooked the strap back over his shoulder as he stepped over to the young woman. He knelt down and put his hands on her shoulders to keep her from trying to get up again. "Stay down," he said firmly. He nodded toward the wound on her leg. "Have ya been bit?" he asked.

Alyssa shook her head. "Shot," she answered weakly. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she struggled to stay awake. "Who… are you?"

Daryl growled under his breath. "Guess I'm the one savin' your life…" He scooped her into his arms and looked around. "Are you on your own?"

Alyssa nodded, wrapping her arms around the man's neck. "I was… with a group, but… our camp was… attacked."

"By walkers?" Daryl asked.

Alyssa looked at him curiously. "What's walkers?"

Daryl stared at her. "The dead people walking around."

"Oh." Alyssa shook her head again, wincing as he started walking. "We just called them monsters." She looked at him. "It was… normal people that attacked our camp… all men." She took a deep breath. "They killed all of the guys in camp… took all of the girls, the little kids, and all of our weapons with them."

"How did you get away?" Daryl shifted her slightly in his arms so he could maneuver down an incline without dropping her or falling himself.

"I wasn't in camp… when they attacked. I was looking… for berries." Her head fell back over his arm for a few moments before she was able to lift it up again. "I heard… noises… when I got close to camp and… hid."

Daryl nodded once, seeing the camp in the distance. "How'd you get shot if ya hid?"

Alyssa licked her dry lips before answering. "The guys in camp were running… some trying to fight and others… just trying to save themselves." She bit back tears. "One of them was… killed right in front of… my hiding spot. One of the bullets meant for him… ended up in my leg." Her head fell back over his arms again, exhaustion and blood loss taking its toll. "That was… two days ago…"

Daryl growled as the girl passed out, quickening his pace to get her into camp and over to Hershel. "Don't worry," he whispered to her as he carried her. "You're safe now."


	2. Chapter 2

Alyssa groaned softly as she woke up. She found herself looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling, and she could hear the sounds of people in other rooms. She was in a lot of pain, but she didn't like being somewhere that was unfamiliar. She was also starving. She looked around and noticed that the man who she had been talking to in the woods was sleeping in a chair next to the bed. Being as quiet as she could, she started carefully pushing the covers off of her so that she could get out of the bed.

Daryl spoke without opening his eyes. "Lay back down. You shouldn't be movin' yet."

Alyssa stared over at the man, trying to figure out how he had known she was getting out of bed. "Where am I?" she asked him quietly.

Daryl opened his eyes and looked over at the young woman as he pointed one of his fingers toward the pillow, indicating for her to lay back down. As she did, he grabbed the covers and pulled them back up over her.

Alyssa sighed as she laid back down. She looked expectantly at him, waiting for him to answer her question.

"You passed out on me, so I brought you here," Daryl finally answered. "Hershel dug the bullet out of your leg and fixed you up, but you still have to rest and take it easy."

Alyssa narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't do well with having to stay in one place for very long, especially when it's a strange place."

"That's too damn bad," Daryl responded. "You'll stay in that bed until Hershel says you're good enough to get up, even if I have at tie ya to it to make sure you do."

Alyssa growled. "You can't keep me here!" She grabbed the pillow from under her head and threw it at him.

"I can hear the two of you arguing all the way in the kitchen," Hershel complained as he came into the room. He looked from one of them to the other. "Who's going to explain to me what's going on?" He laughed when they each pointed at the other. He looked over at the young woman. "What's your name?"

Alyssa hesitated as she looked from one of them to the other, sighing before she finally answered. "My name's Alyssa." She studied the older man. "How long do I have to stay in this bed?"

"I'm glad to know you, Alyssa," Hershel responded as he moved closer to start examining her leg. "My name is Hershel Greene, and you're in my home." He nodded toward the man in the chair. "Daryl surprised us all when he came carrying you up here yesterday."

Alyssa's eyes widened at the last word. "Yesterday? I've been asleep since yesterday?" She glanced over at Daryl. "Why did you bring me here? You could have just went on you way and left me where I was."

Daryl shrugged, picking at his fingernails instead of answering.

Hershel rolled his eyes slightly. "Daryl and his group showed up on my doorstep a few days ago. The son of their defacto leader is currently in another bedroom, recovering from a gunshot wound to his chest. Daryl figured I'd be able to help you like I did Rick's son."

Alyssa winced as the man pressed around on her leg, but she made sure that she stayed silent. She hated admitting when she was in pain. She clenched her teeth together and gripped the bedding until her knuckles turned white.

Hershel finally sat back up. "You're healing nicely, but it's going to be at least another couple of days before you're going to be able to get up and around. That bullet did quite a bit of damage."

"Great," Alyssa muttered under her breath. She watched the older man leave. "What the hell am I supposed to do while stuck in a bed for days?"


	3. Chapter 3

Alyssa stretched her arms over her head before covering her mouth with her hand to hids a yawn. She looked toward the bedroom door when she heard someone coming, pushing herself into a sitting position up against the headboard. She smiled slightly to hide her disappointment when Hershel stepped into the room. She had been expecting to see Daryl. This was the first morning she had woke up alone. She was beginning to get used to the man and his crossbow being there whenever she opened her eyes.

Hershel smiled when he found Alyssa awake. "Good morning, Alyssa," he greeted her. He chuckled, reading the look that was on her face as if he was reading a book. "Daryl went out to hunt for some food. He should be back around lunch time. How are you feeling?"

Alyssa shrugged her shoulders. "There's a little pain still whenever I try to put my full weight on that leg, but it's mostly just a burning type sensation now that's pretty constant but dull."

Hershel nodded, moving closer to the bed and removing the bandage that was over the bullet hole in her leg so that he could examine it. "It's looking much better," he commented, looking up at her. "I'm going to give it another really good cleaning and then let it stay uncovered for a while. If things are still looking good, I'll get it re-bandaged and you can try getting up and around on it for a while this afternoon for more than just a trip to the bathroom and back."

Alyssa's eyes brightened at Hershel's words. Being trapped anywhere, for any reason, was one of the things that she hated the most. She was really looking forward to being able to get up and move around. It would also mean that she was one step closer to being able to leave and let these people get on with their lives. "Thanks so much for all you've done for me, Hershel. I know that I'd be dead if it wasn't for you and your skills."

Hershel shook his head as he started cleaning the wound on her leg. "The only thing I did was remove a bullet and keep the wound clean. You are the one who had the strength to survive, especially for as long as you did before Daryl found you." He reached out and put his hand on top of her shoulder, patting it gently. "You just keep resting. I'll have Maggie bring you some breakfast here in a few minutes, and then I'll come back to check on you again in a couple of hours." He gave her another encouraging smile. "I don't regret Daryl finding you and bringing you here, Alyssa. You've become a bright spot in my day."

IN THE AFTERNOON

Daryl hadn't come back yet, at least not to see her, and Alyssa didn't want to wait any longer. Hershel had re-bandaged her leg and given her permission to move around. Maggie had even brought her a clean outfit to wear. She was more than ready to get back outside and to her freedom once more.

Daryl hooked the deer carcass over his left shoulder, holding all four of its hooves in his left hand so that he wouldn't drop it as he walked. He kept his crossbow in his right hand, ready for anything that might happen during his journey back to camp. He had been gone for a little longer than he had planned on being gone and was surprised to find himself anxious to get back. He wanted to see Alyssa more than he wanted just about anything else. The young woman had awakened feelings inside of him that he wasn't sure whether he wanted to have them or not.

Alyssa stopped on the porch at the top of the steps and took a couple of deep breaths as she looked around. The farm was beautiful. She hadn't been conscious when Daryl had brought her here, so this was her first real good look at the area. She smiled softly as she studied the surroundings, part of her feeling proud of Hershel and all that his family had accomplished. She shook her head, taking another deep breath as she descended the steps and started walking across the yard.

There was almost a bounce in Daryl's step as he spotted a couple of markers that he had created when their group had first arrived so that Rick and the others would know when they were getting close to the farm. He growled under his breath and forced himself to stop acting foolishly before anyone from the group saw him. The last thing he wanted was to be harassed by the others.

Alyssa tried to ignore the stares of the people that were milling around down by the tents as she limped slowly across the farm. The only other person she had met besides the ones who lived in the farmhouse and Daryl was Rick Grimes. He was the leader of Daryl's group and had wanted to meet her. She noticed Rick heading in her direction now, but she didn't let on. She kept limping slowly across the land toward the woods.

"Alyssa!" Rick called out, quickening his steps to catch up with the young woman. He smiled when she stopped and turned toward him. "It's good to see you up and about. You look much better than the last time I saw you."

Alyssa smiled slightly and nodded her head. "Hershel has been taking very good care of me. My leg feels much better."

Rick nodded. "I can see that." He glanced over her shoulder toward the woods. "Are you going somewhere specific?"

She put a fake smile on her face, not wanting him to know the truth. She knew that the people in this group would feel obligated to convince her to stay, and she didn't want to be a burden to anyone. She shook her head and lied. "I'm just going for a walk. The exercise will do me some good."

Rick opened his mouth to tell her that she couldn't leave the farm but shut it again almost immediately. She technically wasn't a member of their group and probably had people looking for her. He couldn't deny her the freedom of going wherever she wanted to go. "Just be careful. It's dangerous out there, and you're still injured."

Alyssa nodded. "I will. Thanks, Rick." This time, the smile that she gave him before turning around to continue on her way was not fake. Something told her that he knew she wasn't planning on coming back.

Rick stayed and watched Alyssa until she disappeared into the trees before he went back over to the tents.


End file.
